January 04, 2014

Archdiocese Of New York Explains What's Wrong With ObamaCare Birth Control Mandate Intransigence

I've wanted to write on this matter in detail now for several days. Every time I've started to do so, though, I've been overwhelmed by the task of refuting a policy that I view as morally and constitutionally objectionable in that if effectively arrogates to the government the power to determine what the actual religious beliefs of religious organizations and individuals are AND to determine on their behalf both the sincerity of those beliefs and whether certain acts violate those beliefs or not, irregardless of what is believed and asserted by those organizations and individuals. Indeed, I find myself questioning whether or not the religion clauses of the First Amendment, protecting the right o freely exercise one's religion and prohibiting the establishment of religion by the government, have not been de facto excised from the Bill of Rights by the current regime in Washington and its lawless leader.

How can you diagnose when somebody is suffering from ideological obsession?

Consider the case of the Affordable Care Act. This law was supposed to provide for universal health insurance for all Americans. Yet the law is filled with exemptions, and the Administration has granted even more exceptions and exemptions as the implementation date for the law approached on New Year’s Day.

Here are just a few of the exemptions that were incorporated in the law itself: people who can’t afford coverage, even with a subsidy; people with income levels too low to require filing a federal tax return; members of certain Indian tribes; people who can claim a hardship; people who will have a short gap in their coverage; members of certain religious groups that conscientiously oppose insurance benefit programs (e.g., the Amish); members of a “health care sharing ministry”; people in prison; and people who are not lawfully in the United States.

In the last few months, with all the mess associated with the new health exchange websites, and all the other chaos associated with the law, the Administration has granted new exemptions: people whose plans were cancelled can get a plan that is not compliant with the ACA; people who weren’t able to comply because of difficulties in signing up for a new plan won’t be penalized; and large businesses with over 50 employees will not be fined for failing to provide any health insurance.

Now, many of these exemptions make perfect sense, and reflect a healthy degree of flexibility in the implementation of a very complex law.

So, what does this have to do with ideology? Well, despite all those other exemptions, waivers and extensions, one group has not been able to obtain an exemption, despite repeatedly asking for it, petitioning for it, and finally suing for it — religious organizations that have a moral objection to facilitating contraception, sterilization, and abortion, as would be required under the so-called HHS Mandate.

For these groups, there is no flexibility at all. There is instead an adamant insistence that they will have to cooperate, regardless of their deeply-held religious beliefs. The Amish get out of the law entirely, but when it comes to Catholic dioceses, schools and charities agencies, the government offers nothing except artificial and unsatisfactory “accommodations”.

Consider the absurdity of the government’s position. As pointed out by Archbishop Kurtz, the president of the U.S. Bishops, under the Administration’s current policies, large businesses will be able to completely eliminate any health insurance for their employees, with no fine at all, but religious organizations that refuse to cooperate with moral evil will be subject to crippling fines of $100 per day per employee. The government won’t even grant temporary respite while legal challenges are working their way through the courts. They can’t even bring themselves to give a break to the Little Sisters of the Poor, who spend their entire lives caring for needy elderly people.

Why is this? It’s not that hard to understand. The current Administration is entirely beholden to an ideology of sexual liberationism that considers contraception, sterilization and abortion to be “sacred ground”. They consider this ideology to be so central to life that they will brook no opposition, and will do whatever it takes to bring to heel anyone who opposes them.

That is an ideological obsession. It is dangerous to the souls of those who suffer from it, and it is dangerous to any society in which they wield power.

Beautifully put. And I urge you to click the link to the original, where Ed takes down every Obamunist taking point against the Little Sisters of the Poor and religious freedom for those who hold that birth control -- or even just those with abortifacient effects -- is contrary to their faith and that facilitating its provision through their insurance plan is sinful cooperation with moral evil.
It is apparently the view of the current regime in Washington that religious liberty for all but a handful of religious minority groups (Amish, Muslims, etc) is incompatible with the national health care scheme advocated and imposed by Obama and the Democrats. Obama and his subordinates demand, in effect, precisely what a string of Roman emperors from the mid first through the early fourth centuries demanded -- that followers of Christ be prepared to burn a little incense in worship of the false god of the state and murmur the prescribed words in honor of one whose glorified hindquarters temporarily occupied the throne of an earthly empire. What they fail to understand -- or perhaps refuse to accept -- is that we cannot and will not do so if we are true to our faith, for we obey a higher law than that of man, await a kingdom much more glorious than the nation in which we live, and give all honor, glory, and praise to the One who sits upon much more glorious throne than any earthly leader. In short, this is not a new conflict -- it is one that is two thousand years old. And if the temporal battle is lost in the coming weeks and months, our faith tells us that the eternal battle will be won -- and indeed already has been.

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Comments on Archdiocese Of New York Explains What's Wrong With ObamaCare Birth Control Mandate Intransigence

Wow, Liz -- the grammar Nazi cometh! Given that the word can be found in print going back over 200 years, and given that it is a common dialectical usage (though non-standard), I think your reaction is over-wrought.

Too bad you could not put aside your pecksniffian objection and instead have actually considered the argument rather than the word choice.

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NAME: Greg
AGE: 50-ish
SEX: Male
MARITAL STATUS: Married
OCCUPATION: Social Studies Teacher
LOCATION: Seabrook, TX
DISCLAIMER: All posts reflect my views alone, and not the view of my wife, my dogs, my employer, or anyone else. All comments reflect the view of the commenter, and permitting a comment to remain on this site in no way indicates my support for the ideas expressed in the comment.Amazon.com Widgets